Spreader for silk, cotton, ramie, or the like.



No. 781,892. PATENTED FEB. 7, 1905.

C. MANN.

SPREADBR FOR SILK, COTTON, RAMIE, 0R THE LIKE.

APPLIUATION FILED AUG.1.1904.

UNiTED STATES Patented February '7, 1905. y

ATENT @trice CHRISTIAN MANN, or wALosHUT, (unanimi SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 781,892, dated February 7, 1905.

Application led August l, 1904. Serial No. 219,151.

T0 all 1U/1,0m if 711//1/,7/ concern.'

Be it known that [,Cn'ms'riAN MANN. a citi- Zen of' Germany,residing in lValdshut, G rand Duchy of' BademGermany, (whose post-ottico address is lValdshutJ have invented certain new and usef'ul improvements in Spreaders for Silk, Cotton, Hannie, orV the Like; and I do hereby declare the Afollowingto be a f'ull, clear, andexact description of' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference beingI had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters ofl reference marked thereon, which form a part of' this specifici tion.

l have applied for patent in France on February 3, 190i; in Germany on February 6, 1904; in Great-Britain on February 6, 190i; in Italy on February 8, 1904s; in Switzerland on February 11, 190i, and in Austria on February 1T, 1904:.

Spreaders at present in use, such as Harrison spreaders and intersecting spreaders,have the defect that the parts which convey the fibrous material (the f'allers and rollers) are very speedily worn out and that the expense of' keeping the machine in order is consequently very heavy. Moreover, it often happens that the tibrous material is damaged b v being' handled by the conveying parts or by coming' in contact with lubricating-oil, which occurrences naturally diminish the value ot' the finished material to a considerable extent. As it has hitherto proved impossible to provide automatically-actuated cleaning' devices f'or these conveying' parts, it has been necessary to clean them by hand, a circumstance which also injuriously affects the capacity of the machine. In the spreaders hereinafter described with the aid ot' the drawings these defects are overcome by having' the librous material conveyed from the delivery-roller to the drawing-rollers by means of endless belts arranged one above the other, the adjacent sides of which belts move in the same direction and are set with teeth or pins, any impurities that may happen to adhere to the teeth or pins being removed by means of' an artificially-produced current of air.

ln the accompanying' drawings Figurel represents a section drawn on the line A B of' Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a plan, the fan assumed to be removed; and Flg. 3 represents a detail.

ln the frame 7;, which is mounted on the' stand 1, the rollers c e' and ff are mounted in the bearings which can be adjusted by means ot' the screws c, the two rollers c' moving in opposite directions, but with the same speed, being actuated in the usual manner. Over these pairs of' rollers run endless belts ry z/-ii1:1tle, Af'or instance, of' leather or india rubbermwhich are set with pins or teeth that are bent backward in relation to the direction of movement of' the tibrous material. These pins or teeth extend beyond the surface of' the belts to which they are attached, and their backs engage with the grooves or recesses formed between each two adjoining' teeth or ribs of' the rollers e t", Fig. 3. As a consequence the belts are compelled to move with a speed equal to the surface speed of the rollers. A rotary fan is mounted above the right-hand end of' the belts. The rotation of' the f'an produces a current of air in a direction contrary to that in which the belts move, which current carries away any impurities that may happen to have been adherent to the belts. To the lef't ot' the pair of' belts is situated a conveying-belt which moves around a roller and the delivery-roller wz, which is placed above the roller Adjoiningl the right-hand end ofthe pair of' belts are situated the drawing-rollers `n n, which rotate with a surtace speed greater than thatL ot' the pair ofl belts.

The fibrous material is 'f'ed onto the conveying-belt which, assisted .by the deliveryroller m, carries it between the two beltsg (7', which convey it to the drawing-rollers rn n. As soon as the ends of` the fibers are gripped by the rollers n n the fibers begin to move with the same speed as said rollers, with the result otl extending the fibers, the other ends of' which still adhere to the teeth or pins t. Experience has shown that it is possible to drive the belts with a comparatively high speed without causing the fibers to curl and that the capacity ofl the machine is superior to those constructed in accordance with any ot' the systems hitherto in use. The pins or teeth are very little damaged by use. Consequently the repairs are reduced to a minimum. As the belts do not require to be lubricated, it is practically impossible that the iibrous material should be soiled by oil. Moreover, the fibers being drawn out in a straight line are preserved as much as possible, and the drawing out of the long and short fibers is uniform.

Several pairs of belts may of course be arranged by the side of each other.

What I claim is- 1. The combination of a frame, deliveryrollers, drawing-rollers, a continuous belt arranged between said delivery and drawing rollers, means for sustaining said belt, pins or teeth carried by said belt and bent reversely to the direction in which said belt moves, and a means for delivering a blastv against said pins or teeth in the direction in which they are bent, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a frame, deliveryrollers, drawing-rollers, two continuous belts arranged face to face, means for sustaining said belts and for causing them to travel in reverse directions, pins orteeth carried by said belts, those on each belt being bent in a direction reverse tol that in which belt travels, and a means for delivering a blast against the pins or teeth on one belt in the direction` in which said pins are bent, substantially as described.

3. In a spreader for silk, cotton, ramie and the like, the combination of a continuous belt, a means for supporting and advancing said belt comprising a roller having longitudinal surface grooves, and rows of pins or teeth penetrating said belt and having their buttends protruding from the back surface of the belt, said rows of pins being spaced to coincide with the spacing of the grooves in said roller, substantially as described.

- In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 19th day of July, 1904.

' CHRISTIAN MANN. Witnesses:

LUDWIG GRIEBEL, BENJAMIN F. LIEFELD. 

